discussion

Each black widow spider shopping cart float represented not just the anarchist black color, but one of the three main values of anarchist philosophy: 1. mutual aid; 2. solidarity, empathy, and equity with oppressed communities; 3. direct action and problem-solving.

Black widows seem hidden and out of sight, but are active, powerful beneficial caregivers to various other organisms, while also protecting against large oppressors. The females are not victims, and like anarchists, have been misunderstood and unappreciated, falsely maligned and mistakenly feared or hated, when they are typically non-aggressive and not dangerous, but beneficial. Black widow spiders or Latrodectus range in size around most of the world. They communicate the interconnectivity and sensitive responsiveness to how we are all in the same web and environment.

Like idealized anarchists, black widows have incredible strengths and abilities. The Latrodectus create the strongest, highest-quality, most consistent diameter silk and strongest tensile strength of anything created in nature. It is also the most uniform in size, so much so that it was used for bombsight cross hairs in WWII bombers. Pound for pound, the black widow's silk is far stronger than steel. And, a scientific spider guy (arachnologist) once stated that it would be possible to replace the steel cables on the Golden Gate Bridge with black widow silken cables the thickness of a pencil.

They use webs for incredible communication and warning systems. They are incredibly brave taking on any creature caught in their webs, including much larger mice, frogs, small birds. They protect other creatures nearby from larger, more aggressive predators, such as anarchists against fascists. corporatists.

The venom of female adults is being used to develop treatments for cancer and Alzheimers.

Black widows, like the idealized anarchists, do not live in oppressive hierarchies, do not accumulate waste like rats, and do not depend on governments or others to protect them and their communities. We do not need to depend on the government and pesticides developed as weapons of war to protect us from the pests and diseases that black widows and other spiders and bats protect us from. Anarchists vary in philosophical schools or political subgroups, but agree on the need to live without government oppression, as these spiders prove we can.

Mutualist anarchism is concerned with reciprocity, free association, voluntary contract, federation, and credit and currency reform. Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasise the individual and their will over any kinds of external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems.

Social anarchism calls for a system with common ownership of means of production and democratic control of all organisations, without any government authority or coercion. It is the largest school of thought in anarchism.[201] Social anarchism rejects private property, seeing it as a source of social inequality (while retaining respect for personal property),[202] and emphasises cooperation and mutual aid. Anarcho-syndicalists view labour unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are: Workers' solidarity, Direct action and Workers' self-management. Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism)[235] is a school of thought within anarchism that emphasises environmental issues,[236] with an important precedent in anarcho-naturism,[195][237][238] and whose main contemporary currents are anarcho-primitivism and social ecology.

Anarcha-feminism (also called anarchist feminism and anarcho-feminism) combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary coercive hierarchy that should be replaced by decentralised free association. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state. In essence, the philosophy sees anarchist struggle as a necessary component of feminist struggle and vice versa. Left-wing market anarchism strongly affirm the classical liberal ideas of self-ownership and free markets, while maintaining that, taken to their logical conclusions, these ideas support strongly anti-corporatist, anti-hierarchical, pro-labour positions and anti-capitalism in economics and anti-imperialism in foreign policy.

The use of colorful, wide floats with drums, etc. was attention-getting and hopefully conducive to opening minds and hearts, or at least curiosity. The floats could also double as easily-moved barriers to leave between unarmed civilians and aggressive armed police, giving the children, elderly, and mobility-challenged a little more time to escape the violent rioting police.

Three black widow spiders showed up for the march yesterday, representing the three principles of mutual aid, direct action, and solidarity with all people struggling for their liberation from oppression. Built on shopping carts, the spiders contained water bottles which were passed out and distributed among the crowd of marchers. [These were probably also available to help with street first aid from police use of chemical weapons.]

If you're wondering what the hell was up with the spiders in the black bloc yesterday, here's an explanation from a person who went over and asked them:

"The Black Block anarchists did a preliminary march down the street to our park without interruption from the police. They mingled at the park behind the Y&F zone. They had 3 Black Widow spider floats. I asked one of the anarchists to explain why the spiders. He said, 'Black Widow spiders are scary looking, part of what helps them protect all the other spiders from their enemies. The Black Widow stays in hiding while the others are free to run. The Black Widow knows when to show up. We have 3 Black Widows here to represent the 3 ethical concepts of unifying factors that bring the anarchists together. 1)helping each other and mutual aid, 2)solidarity, understanding each others struggles from a human level 3) taking direct action when the politicians are letting oppression happen.'

My experience with the Black Block Anarchists was so different than I expected. I came with the view that they were all violent and wanted to fight and cause trouble. This group that I met was not any of that."

"My experience with the Black Block Anarchists was so different than I expected. I came with the view that they were all violent and wanted to fight and cause trouble. This group that I met was not any of that."

Well? What were they then? The somewhat dark green bloc?

They must have been somewhat different from regular protesters. How? Scary masks?